November 16, 2016

Grouping of Clusters – in our area: Pinellas+ Pasco-Hernando+Tampa


From: The Southeast Regional Baha’i Council Newsletter ‘Update’, November 2016

What is a grouping of adjoining clusters?
"In some regions that stretch across a large territory, Councils have made arrangements for nurturing the development of groups of adjoining clusters. Meanwhile, in smaller countries that do not require the establishment of Regional Councils, National Assemblies are increasingly giving thought to ways of helping clusters advance, in some instances by forming a working group charged with this task; you are encouraged to stimulate learning in this area, with the aim that, in due course, formal structures can be defined that would assume this responsibility in much the same way that Councils do in other countries." - The Universal House of Justice  (Dec 29, 2015)

What are the groupings in the Southeast?
The Southeast region has identified nine groupings, one in Mississippi, one in Alabama, three in Florida, two in Georgia and two in South Carolina. On the average there are nine clusters in each grouping, the majority being milestone ones as of the beginning of the Five Year Plan. The grouping maps for the Southeast region is shown in the Council website www.rbcsoutheast.org. The color coding corresponds to programs of growth (milestone ones, yellow) and intensive programs of growth (milestone two's, blue) respectively. One cluster within each grouping is designated as reservoir cluster with the expectation that it would supply the flow of resources with knowledge and experience to the remaining clusters within the grouping.

November 6, 2016

Home Visits – some excerpts from the recent messages of the Universal House of Justice

• "Conceived as a means for exposing believers to the fundamentals of the Faith, "home visits" are giving rise to an array of deepening efforts, both individual and collective, in which the friends are delving into the Writings and exploring their implications for their lives."
- Universal House of Justice, 27 December 2005

• "...home visits to the friends who would benefit from deepening and discussions that connect them with the community…"
- Universal House of Justice, 29 December 2015

• "As they call on one another in their homes and pay visits to families, friends and acquaintances, they enter into purposeful discussion on themes of spiritual import, deepen their knowledge of the Faith, share Bahá’u’lláh’s message, and welcome increasing numbers to join them in a mighty spiritual enterprise."
- Universal House of Justice, Ridván, 2008